There’s this new show on HBO I’ve been watching, The Night Of. It’s managed to completely capture me after just three episodes but in a horribly uncomfortable way. Most of the show is from the perspective of a college-aged young man in New York City. He appears to be a really thoughtful, smart, hardworking kid who loves his family deeply. The show follows him as he takes a few risks one evening, no worse than anything you or I have… Read more

I woke up this morning to my province raging over a couple of atheist parents on Bowen Island. The CBC was reporting that, An atheist family whose child was not allowed to re-enrol in preschool after her parents fought against classroom Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations has been awarded $12,000 by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. Now, before you nod your head in support of the parents, I think you ought to hear the whole story. Sure, their win with the… Read more

Your Stories of Atheism are heartbreaking, triumphant, angering and inspiring. They are written by you, for you in this ongoing series about how you came to identify as an atheist. If you want to send me your story, you can email me here. Please note that by doing so, you give me permission to publish it here as part of the series. If you wish to remain anonymous, please say so in your email otherwise, I will use just your first… Read more

Just a few days ago, the state of Texas executed death row inmate Joseph Garcia. Each time this happens, I can’t help but think how much closer Pablo must be to another execution date. I can’t help but wonder how much time he has left to prove his innocence. That is not to say, of course, that I am certain of Pablo’s innocence. However, at the very least there is reasonable doubt when it comes to his guilt and in… Read more

Today, I offer you a treat. It’s a small glimpse into the beautiful mind of my stepdaughter, Abbey. I’ve known for a while now that she can write. From the time she was a small child, I would read the things she wrote and it would always amaze me. She always seemed so far beyond her years. Once, together, we wrote a children’s story called the Dream Fairy, which she illustrated as well. I felt honoured to work with such… Read more

Do you think John Chau, the Christian missionary who illegally tried to reach an uncontacted tribe in Asia, is to blame for what happened to him? Is he a victim or was he the aggressor? These are the things I talk about with Donovan, my podcast partner, in our latest episode of Common Heathens. We also continued on with our conversation during the Patron-only hangout afterwards. It’s always so fun for us to see you and talk to you face-to-face. If… Read more

When I reached out to an atheist on death row, if you’ll recall, all I really aimed to find out was what life was like behind bars for a heathen. But when Pablo Melendez, Jr. wrote back to me from Texas’ death row, what I got was a glimpse into an absolute travesty of justice. Pablo wrote to me, kind enough to answer my simple questions about life on death row as an atheist. He barely mentioned his case, but… Read more

One day, I was thumbing a popular book when I was shocked to stumble across a specific passage. In it, it had been written clearly that women ought to be subservient to men and that men should not be afraid to give us a smack if we refuse to fall in line. Naturally, I was horrified. I don’t expect my readers to agree with me on everything, but I would hope, at the very least, that this misogynistic assertion horrifies… Read more

I dunno about you, but I had a fantastic weekend. I got so much done, swam some laps, cleaned house and even painted a portrait of Anthony Bourdain. The highlight was probably when I taught my kiddo how to play The Settlers of Catan and he proceeded to school the adult Catan vets. By Sunday night, I was exhausted and dropped into my cozy bed for a deep, satisfying snooze. Yesterday morning, I finally sat down at my computer again… Read more

Well, it’s finally Thanksgiving in the US which means it’s almost December and for the Hellbound that means just one thing: time to get warring on Christmas. If you’re new to atheist activism, I’m here to explain the next steps and how you can do your part to make sure you’re waging war on Christmas with the rest of us. This is everything you need to know to ensure you’re contributing to the corrosion of all things Christians hold dear… Read more